


Star-crossed

by Klarheit



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 22:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16004201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klarheit/pseuds/Klarheit
Summary: Chanyeol and Baekhyun were very much in love.However, Baekhyun never said a word and there was not a single hint from Chanyeol.





	Star-crossed

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is one of my works published in asianfanfics way back in July 2016. I realized that I had this just a few minutes ago and I thought it was quite nice so I wanted to upload a new version here on AO3 which is my current writing platform. There isn't much difference, just on speeches that I thought may affect the impact of the story. The story itself, however, is the same.

July 2008.

Baekhyun met Chanyeol at the tender age of fifteen, way back in high school. They were of the same year, despite Chanyeol being a couple of months younger.

It was a hot summer's day, barely July when the Park family moved in their neighorhood. The youngest son of the Byuns was on his way to the table for breakast when he heard his mother ask Baekbom if he could "kindly bring these rice cakes over at the house next-door" and the respond of his older brother that he was "supposedly on his way to Lotte to meet Jisoo. Why can't the maids do it?". His mother answered with "we want to keep our image of being friendly and down-to-earth if we want to look good in front of people."

A new neighbor? They lived in a high-class subdivision in the heart of Gangnam wherein old money resided and new neigbors were almost unheard of. Thus, the arrogant Baekhyun offered to go, wanting to see for himself if the Parks were, as he suspected, new money. If they were, well, Baekhyn had to make sure that they are aware of the presence of the Byuns-- a long-running lineage of money, power and arrogance. The last trait being the present the most, when one looks at the youngest son.

His mother Sunhee agreed, and, with a warning glance at Baekbom, handed the rice cake to the shorter of the two.

Baekhyun decided to go and check out the Parks' firstly, breakfast being out of the question now that his attention span was fully on dominating the new neighbors so, after making sure he looked presentable despite being in comfortable clothes, he made his merry way towards the new chaebols.

 

\--

 

The Park mansion was good, Baekhyun deemed. It wasn't as big as the Byuns'. A little more home-like and less dominating, more modern compared to the classic Spanish-villa vibe that his own house offered.

He was greeted by the mistress of the house, a certain Choi Sooyoung. Tall, lean and pretty, Choi Sooyoung was a mother of two. The well-known ulzzang news anchor Park Yoora and a younger son who was appearantly around Baekhyun's age, Park Chanyeol. The boy was tall for his age, taller than Baekhyun, that's for sure. With fairy-like protuding ears and a baby face, when he opened his mouth to greet him, the Byun was startled.

In contrast to his baby-ish face, the boy had a deep, velvety voice which made Baekhyun's husky voice pale in comparison.

 

\--

 

The Parks turned out to be old money, after all. Not as old as the Byuns but still old, nonetheless, but unlike the Byuns who were famous in the Asian and European scene, these new neighbors are well-known in the United States.

Baekhyun's family excelled in fashion and make-up industry. If you ever heard of Pur Blanc, Pur Elite, Noir, Lumiere and Prestige (I'm sure you heard of Pur Blanc, they are the long-running competition of Chanel) ... well, they are some of the few businesses that the Byun family owns.

Chanyeol's family turned out to be the owners of a hotel and restaurant chain called Feu. One night in one of their hotels costs the entire paycheck of an average Korean, so, despite being smaller in comparison to the Byuns, the Park family fares well on their own.

Baekhyun deemed Chanyeol appropriate to be in his tiny group of friends. If Baekhyun were to be honest, though, he would welcome Chanyeol as a friend even if he came from an average family in terms of profit but Baekhyun never said a word.

 

\--

 

"Come on in! Do you want anything to drink?" Baekhyun asks Chanyeol who visited today, in the hopes of getting to know him better.

"Coffee would be nice." It was a cold day in autumn and it was the perfect opportunity to drink soup and coffee, so Baekhyun nodded and proceeded to tell the kitchen maids to prepare it, just the way Baekhyun likes it.

Appearantly, though, Chanyeol doesn't like cappuccino and the taller's face scrunches up as the offensive drink was placed in front of him and the shorter took the hint but instead of asking Chanyeol about his coffee preference, he says, "Don't be such a wuss and drink up." So Chanyeol did-- but being lactose intolerant, this sends him home a couple of hours later, and was only to be seen again three days after the incident.

 

\--

 

September 2008

Baekhyun's group of friends consists of Do Kyungsoo and Kim Junmyeon. They were the only people who Baekhyun trusts, for the Dos and the Kims have been very good friends of his family and the two were the most honest people that Baekhyun knew, so, he never looked for more friends when he met them.

"Kyungsoo, Junmyeon hyung, this is Park Chanyeol." He introduced his newfound friend and the latter bowed as low as his height lets him, as he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Thanks to Chanyeol's naturally silent and honest front, Baekhyun's friends, who he considered as brothers, immediately grew to be fond of the gentle giant.

They would attend the horribly boring business parties together, they traveled the world together and they graduated high school together. In all of those four years that his friendship remained constant with Chanyeol, there were a lot  moments wherein Baekhyun would find himself alone with the man; it was in these moments that he would fall in love— his heart beat would speed up, his palms, sweaty and his brain would focus on one person alone. But he never said a word.

 

-

 

May 2012

After their high school graduation, Kyungsoo decided that they should go out to drink, despite Junmyeon's protests, Chanyeol's shocked look and Baekhyun's sputters of "no"s, and "our reputations".

How they found themselves inside the Feu's casinos, Baekhyun didn't really recall. They were in skinny jeans and graphic tees, attires that wouldn't be considered appropriate for Feu's naturally glamorous interiors but bringing Chanyeol along certainly does its job and the four were sitting on the bar, glasses of virgin marys in hand.

"We are so screwed if someone finds out." Junmyeon mumbles and Kyungsoo snorts at him saying, "Hyung, live a little. And so what? We're nineteen. The press needs to suck it up and be reminded that we are also teenage boys needing fun before our parents slap their stupid business in our faces."

One would normally assume that Kyungsoo is silent and the most likely to gain the title "goody-two-shoes," but his group of friends know that he's the snarkiest and sassiest of the bunch and such words coming from the shortest's mouth is a pretty normal occurrence in their day-to-day lives.

"Lucky you, Baekbom hyung's probably gonna inherit Pur Blanc and Pur Elite." Baekhyun tells them and the three snorted, Chanyeol tried to cheer him up by answering with a smile and saying, "Baekhyun, Pur Blanc and Pur Elite is only a couple of your many businesses. You're certainly going to inherit something. And you don't really mind what you inherit, don't you?"

"Those two are the biggest of the bunch though, and now I simply want to inherit Pur Blanc." The brunette told his friends as his finishes his cocktail before continuing, "Baekbom hyung can have all of those companies. I just want Pur Blanc."

Junmyeon, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol all knew how much Pur Blanc mattered to Baekhyun. Pur Blanc was the Byun family's staple source of income. Grandpa Byun favored Baekhyun the most out of the Byun brothers because Sunhee and Baekho were hell-bent on making Baekbom a fine businessman and Baekhyun was left alone to figure things out on his own. Grandpa Byun loved Pur Blanc and Baekhyun wants to manage it so that his Grandpa would be proud, but before he could voice this out to his grandpa, the elderly died from a heart attack.

Of course, Chanyeol would give his all just to hold the shorter in his arms and comfort him, but being in an area wherein he's being closely monitored, he never showed a sign.

 

-

 

September 2013

 It was their second year of college. The quad took up courses corresponding to their families' businesses along with a couple of units for business management. Kyungsoo took up medicine, for the Dos owned the biggest hospitals in Asia, Junmyeon took up Law, being the heir to Kim Law Firm, Chanyeol took up Business and a minor in HRM and Baekhyun, of course, took up Fashion.

Despite loving his course, hardships are inevitable. So, when Baekhyun saw his first COG for his second year, he was shocked. How and why did he fail in one of his major units? He worked hard and studied harder and he was so sure he was going to nail that 1.25 grade but when he saw a solid, black 5.0 in his COG, he broke down.

Baekhyun found himself in the hospital and it turned out that he was in under too much pressure and stress, balancing out his studies and his internship at Noir.

When Baekho found out about his son's failure in one of his subjects, he stomped his way to the hospital and gave Baekhyun an earful about how useless he is and how he should be more like his brother. It was quite the scandal, really, and it left Baekhyun in tears. Junmyeon and Kyungsoo comforted their friend and Chanyeol stood petrified, how could one be like that towards his own son?

Baekhyun was hurt that his father would tell him such harsh words but he never said a word.

Chanyeol was so worried but in the fear of saying something wrong, he didn't so much give a hint.

 

\--

 

December 2014

"So, how's Seohyun?" Kyungsoo once asked Chanyeol during lunch and Baekhyun was taken aback— Chanyeol never mentioned a Seohyun to Baekhyun and from the looks of it, Junmyeon hasn't never heard of the name too.

"I'm sorry? Who is Seohyun?" Junmyeon asked the two, gaze shifting over to Baekhyun who sat frozen.

"Don't tell me you didn't tell them yet, Chanyeol! I thought you would have  told Baekhyun first, knowing that he's your best friend!"

"Must have slipped my mind.." Bullshit.

"I'll fill you guys in, then. There's this girl, Seo Jihyun who goes by the name of Seohyun-- she's perfect. What happened was, Sooyoung ahjumma got irritated by the fact that Chanyeol's already in college but has never introduced a girlfriend of some sort! So she asked this blob of height over here to meet that girl. This Seohyun person is not just your typical spoiled brat--- I can see why Sooyoung ahjumma really likes her. She's hard working and polite! Shy, too. She's the perect child." Kyungsoo finished his rave and Baekhyun stabbed his chicken.

"So is she your girlfriend now?" Baekhyun asked through gritted teeth and Chanyeol shook his head before saying. "Not really, we went to a couple of dates and I escorted her to a couple of her family's events, nothing much."

"Oh. Is that so?"

 

\--

 

It was Pur Corporated's golden anniversary and all of the most important businessmen and their family was invited. Baekhyun needn't to memorize all of these people, because Baekbom was probably going to inherit the largest companies in P.C but he still did. Byun Baekhyun, just like Baekbom, was a true businessman by blood. He memorized every single family that was invited, but he somehow missed one.

He was standing right in front of Park Chanyeol whose arms were around a pretty girl who was almost as tall as Baekhyun, with long, black wavy hair, wide, innocent eyes and a shy smile.

Dates were not unheard of in these types of business functions but this girl beside Chanyeol screamed of class, money and sophistication and Baekhyun was absolute that this girl came from a well-to-do family. He must have missed her profile.

"Chanyeol-ah! Were are the others?" He knew that Kyungsoo and Junmyeon were going to be late but he needed some excuse to talk to Chanyeol, to be introduced to this... to this girl.

"They're going to be slightly late. Kyungsoo's date isn't ready yet and Junmyeon... well, he got stuck in traffic. I told that guy to leave early because he always takes wrong routes and ends up in heavy traffic!" The taller answered and Baekhyun chuckles, sipping on his wine glass and his eyes wander to the girl beside his friend. "Who's the lovely lady?"

Chanyeol's eyes dilates a little but this goes unnotcied by Baekhyun who was staring with his date curiously. "This is Seo Jihyun, my date."

Baekhyun felt his heart stop, but he forced a smile and said: "You must be Seohyun! Chanyeol has mentioned you. I didn't expect this guy to hit such jackpot!"

Chanyeol was about to speak up when a couple of girls steals Baekhyun's attention and Chanyeol was left with mouth wide open, Seohyun shyly telling him that they need to find her parents and greet the Byun family altogether.

 

\--

 

November 2017

When Seohyun was first mentioned into their group of friends, Chanyeol told them that her presence was nothing much but he was proven wrong.

Today was the day of their wedding and Baekhyun was currently dressed into a tuxedo, Kyungsoo fixing his hair for him-- he was the best man for today.

They left the hotel at two-thirty in the afternoon, for the wedding was to start at three. Baekhyun drove and Chanyeol sat next to him. Junmyeon and Kyungsoo situated at the backseat, looking geniuinely happy for the first man who was going to get married in their group of friends. In the passenger's seat sat Chanyeol whose face was unreadable, yet his hands were shaking.

Baekhyun longed to reach out for that hand, but as usual, Baekhyun did and said nothing.

The venue was at a church, because Seohyun's belief in God was extraordinary and she wouldn't want her wedding to be any other way. It was a minimal wedding, as requested by the bride-- they only invited their closest of friends and families, business partners well-forgotten.

It was an intimate wedding, and as Seohyun walked down the aisle, she gave off the image of a victorian virgin bride. The sleeves of her gown were  made of lace, starting from the edges of her shoulder, reaching all the way to her wrists. The neckline was modest, barely showing any skin and the veil almost reached the floor in the front and spreads out much wider than the trail of her gown. Her black hair done up, a flower crown made up of white flowers adorned her head, instead of the usual tiara.

When she took her place right beside Chanyeol, Baekhyun's heart clenched because they looked like a match made in heaven and Baekhyun lost all the hope. Even if Chanyeol did love him, assuming that he is not straight, (despite the evidence standing right in front of his very eyes) they were obviously bound to fail. They were too different.

 

\--

 

Reception was held at one of the restaurants that the Parks owned. It closed in celebration of the Park's heir marriage and they were in the middle of dinner when the host, no other than Chanyeol's own sister, Park Yoora, called for their attention and told them in her loud, reporter voice: "Dear friends and family, today we witness the marriage of Seo Jihyun and Park Chanyeol! We would love to hear their massage but first, let's learn a little bit about the bride and the groom from their closest friends! Im Yoona, if you may--"

Im Yoona was the maid of honor and she took her time. She spent a good seven minutes telling them that they met in the park, and Seohyun was lovely and well-mannered even as a child at the age of seven. Yoona was starting to tell them about how Seohyun used to tell her stories about Park Chanyeol when Baekhyun blocked her out, only resurfacing when Kyungsoo started jabbing his ribs: it was his turn to make a speech..

He stood up and straightened out his suit: he rehearsed his speech well. If he went impromptu like Yoona, he would probably confessed right there and then so, like the born businessman he was, he prepared his speech.

"It was in 2008 that I met Chanyeol. His family moved into the neighborhood and I really only had my first good look at him when I brought rice cakes over. Honestly, I thought that befriending him would be such a pain since we were too different. He was a rain of sunshine and I was such a "party-pooper," to borrow Kyungsoo's words. However, I realized, that friendships shouldn't have boundaries. Just as how love doesn't. I already was being compared to a brother who I looked just like, I didn't need a new one. I was in need of a new friend to have a fresh start with." He paused for a moment, smiling at the newlyweds before proceeding, "Seohyun-sshi. You do realize that there is no need for me to say that you are a very lucky woman. Chanyeol never looked at anyone in spite of the confessions being slipped in his locker and the multiple times he's been called out at the rooftop for more. You must understand that this man is one of a kind. There will never be anyone like him, and no one can ever replace him. Not in this lifetime, not in the next, and most definitely not in mine. He's my best friend, and as your husband, yours too. I don't like sharing but I definitely have to give in to you. Congratulations on your marriage."

 

\--

 

Much to Baekhyun's surprise, he was to inherit Pur Blanc and Prestige. However, if he fails to get married before the age of 28,  he forfeits Pur Blanc and was to take over Noir and Prestige alone. Seeing that Chanyeol was already married, Baekhyun had nothing more to lose. He went to marriage meetings and when he found a woman that is of a good standing and had similar passions to him, he went and  befriended her. It was not long when he decided to test the waters and go on more dates with her, and alas, a couple of months later, proposed to her in the fifth month of their relationship.

Byun Baekhyun and Kim Taeyeon's wedding was held on March 9 2018, Taeyeon's 29th birthday. It was tagged by the press as the wedding of the century and that they were the most in love a couple could ever be. The ceremony was held  only held in Korea but they flew to Jeju, booking an entire seven-star beach hotel for all the guests.

It was a beach wedding at nighttime, businessmen and friends attended, and it was one huge ceremony. Vows were exchanged and you can see that Taeyeon was, at least, happy that she was marrying Byun Baekhyun.

But if Baekhyun was to be completely honest, his eyes were only for Park Chanyeol.

 

Kyungsoo served as his best man, getting the task of giving the speech to the guests and Junmyeon and Chanyeol both respected Baekhyun's decision. On Junmyeon's part, he was no good at speech-making and he would always get clammy, though, he was happpy for Baekhyun. On Chanyeol's part, it hurt way too much, and he would probably break down. But since he was already married to a lovely wife and Baekhyun was, now, too, Chanyeol hid all the signs.

 

 

\--

 

Somewhere down the road, Kyungsoo got married to business tycoon, Kim Jongin, defying his parent's expectations and the society's norms. It was 2018 when South Korea and the rest of the world opened for gay marriage, but people were too scared to speak up and finally settle down with the people they love, so, Kim Jongin and Do Kyungsoo broke the ice and were the first married gay couple in South Korea. It was quite the scandal— Gucheon Hospital's only heir was written out of his father's will and stockholders from Kai Corps were withdrawing left and right. But Baekhyun was happy for his friend. He stepped up when Taeyeon was telling her pregnant stomach that Byun Taehyung was not to turn out gay, telling his wife that she should love their son no matter what, that love should know no gender boundaries and that she should be proud of who her son was, because Baekhyun would be.

 

Junmyeon also got married, to a certain Bae Joohyun. She wasn't from a well-known family unlike how Seohyun and Tayeon was, but she was just as beautiful as the wives of the Park and Byun families. She was honest and she loved Junmyeon dearly, that the Kims had no choice but to allow the wedding to happen. Baekhyun was, yet again, best man.

 

\--

 

It was April 2019: Baekhyun was in the middle of an important meeting when he receive the news that his wife was in labor, on the way to the hospital. When he told Baekho and Baekbom of the news, he was left off the meeting with cheers and greetings of congratulations from the board of directors.

Baekhyun was on the edge of his seat when he snapped at Doyoung, his driver, to step on it as they approached a yellow light at the intersection. Doyoung was a good driver who always followed the rules, but he also valued his job so he steppped on it, giving Baekhyun what he wanted. This would have been fine, and they weren't technically breaking traffic rules. Baekhyun would probably would have have reached the hospital in ten minutes but there was one problem.

None of them spotted the enormous truck that was crossing the intersection in full speed before the stoplight on his road turned green, causing the hood of the eighteen-wheeler to slam into the passenger's seat. The black G-wagon was dragged by the impact of the collision, Baekhyun's side taking most of the damage. Doyoung was screaming his lungs off when the truck stopped and pulled back, only to run away from the scene as the car topples upside down.

The driver felt immense pain in his legs and shards were buried deep into his left arm; he knew he was never going to be able to walk again by the way the hood of the car pressed against his legs. However, he chose to look over at the backseat and he his scream got stuck in his throat when he saw his employer's body— a long shard of glass into the chest, eyes wide open and neck almost snapped in half as the pressure of the car bent his body upside-down. His phone was right next to his face.

 

\--

 

Byun Baekhyun's death spread like wildfire.

On the day of his funeral, there were many different expressions on people's faces. Family and business partners' faces were solemn and sorry, but on the faces of Sunhee, Baekbom, Baekho, Taeyeon, Kyungsoo, Junmyeon and Chanyeol tells a different story each.

Sunhee and Baekho were agonizing over their younger son's death.

Taeyeon was holding Taehyung who woke up, crying, wailing, just in time when Baekhyun's coffin was starting to lower into the ground. It was no secret among the family that Taeyeon really did love Baekhyun, even though she knew that Baekhyun had eyes for no one. The younger took care of her like no man ever did, not even her dad. Baekhyun showered her with affection and care, and that was all she asked from her husband. Baekhyun never cheated, nor raised his voice at her. So, the now-widowed Kim Taeyeon stood distraught, tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

Baekbom was in pain, his brother who always had his back was now gone.

Doyoung who was in the accident himself was in a wheelchair,  his brother Jaehyun standing right next to him. The driver lost his legs in the accident and was never to walk again.

Jongin had his arms around Kyungsoo's shoulders. The man was distraught, for it was Baekhyun who stood up for him and stopped the news papers from publishing any more degrading articles and stories about him and Jongin.

Junmyeon was holding his wife, Joohyun's hand. To Junmyeon, Baekhyun was his favorite younger brother. It was too much pain all at once.

But no one ached the way Chanyeol did.

No one cried the way Chanyeol did.

No one hurt the way Chanyeol did.

Seohyun was rubbing his back as he cried into his hands, tears falling continuously as his heart almost stopped beating. He barely stopped himself from jumping into the pit as Baekhyun's coffin was lowered six feet underneath.

 

\--

 

The trio of friends were in Baekhyun's room in the Byun mansion after the funeral, Taeyeon locked herself in the guest room and people understood. Her son was born on the same day her husband died. All she has now was Taehyung. She was doomed to raise a child on her own for the rest of her life.

It was Kyungsoo who opened his mouth first.

"Chanyeol, Junmyeon hyung. I have something to tell you." The youngest stood up and took a thick, hard-bound book taped underneath Baekhyun's nightstand and passed it to the tallest among them.

"Chanyeol, please read this on your own." Kyungsoo closed his eyes before continuing, "you see, B-baekhyun loved you very much. He told me so when he announced to us that he was going to get married. I downright refused his offer to be his best man because that should be your position, Chanyeol. But he told me how much he loves you and how much it would hurt if you said, in front of so many people that he was your best friend. That he was only ever your best friend. H-he told me exactly how he wrote so many unsaid worsds, and how he kept it in the same place, and how he personally cleans the room so that no one will find it... P-please read his feelings with an open mind, Chanyeol. He did love you very much." With this, Kyungsoo stood up and left, with Junmyeon behind him and Chanyeol opened the journal.

The spine was stiff, leaving Chanyeol to assume that it hasn't been used for a very long time.

He started reading the faded ink, Baekhyun's neat handwriting greeting him, telling him that Baekhyun started to get confused when he was with Chanyeol back in high school, how he frustrated he gets when he always chickens out when he prepares himself to confess, how he hated never saying a word.

The journal was filled with Baekhyun's thoughts about Chanyeol, and sometimes, the neat handwriting would turn into scribbles, adorned with stains of ink that were probably from tears, smearing the ink.

The last entry was on Chanyeol's wedding day.

_Chanyeol's getting married today. I would like to say that I'm happy for him, but I'm not. Is it bad that I'm not?_

_It hurts so fucking much. But he's happy like that. He never mentioned anyone to anybody, but when he did, she was the person he married in the end. Maybe I was right to never confess; if I had told him about my feelings, I would have ruined our friendship. It's so much better this way. This is how we were supposed to end._

_Just as friends._

_There's so much that I can never tell him, but here, in this notebook, I will;_

_I'm in love with you. I don't remember when, and how, but I remember looking at you and everything else was in slow motion and out of focus. Cheesy, I know. But that's just how it is. Being with you felt like home unlike this mansion that felt like prison. You're my home._

_I'll probably get married somewhere down the road and when I do, I'm going to give her all the love that I couldn't shower you. It's better like that. We're better off like this. You're happy now, but I'm afraid I never will be. And that's alright._

**_Your happiness is my delight._ **

_Nothing can ever change that._

_I love you._

 

It was a notebook that told the story of star-crossed lovers, bounded by responsibility and duty, and the fear of defying society. And Chanyeol had so many regrets.


End file.
